Major Ikari
by Grizzled Grizzly
Summary: His brother refuses to take Shinji in, so Ikari Gendo uses his influence in order to leave behind his son. Enrolled in the military, Shinji surpasses all expectations and rises through the ranks at a surprising rate until he is called to work for NERV.
1. Chapter 1

"Private! Private!"

"Where are the other tanks! What the fuck do you mean they're being road blocked, the entire fucking cities empty, get me those tanks!"

"No fucking way are those idiots in the JASDF (Japan Air Self-Defence Force) taking our glory, get all available men on the front lines, we're not letting this motherfucker anywhere near the city!"

Countless of shouts and obscenities were being thrown around the large mess of a room and the sound of phones ringing was deafening, closely followed by scurrying of panicked Privates.

"WHAT! How did you morons screw this up!" An aged man, who had the insignia for "First Lieutenant" pressed onto his fatigues, slammed a telephone on to the desk he had been sitting in front of, frustration clear on his face. With a large sigh, the man sat back down, hands going to his temple. "Our guys at the front let that fucking monster pass through, looks like its the JASDF's problem now."

Almost as if on cue to the man's words, the phones stopped ringing and everything came to a stop. There was complete silence and everyone in the room looked defeated.

"Why the long faces boys?" The feminine voice cut through the silence like a knife; a sultry knife reeking of sexuality. Immediately, every man was on his feet and in a salute.

"CAPTAIN KATSURAGI!" The thundering of her name brought a wide smile to the beautiful purple haired woman. Dressed in her usual attire of a tight, short black dress and red bomber jacket, the woman was definitely a sight to see. This was proven by every single man's eyes roaming over her form, perspiration forming on their creased foreheads. If Misato weren't on such a high-profile mission she would have stopped to bask in her sex appeal, but decided that it wasn't worth the amount of shit she would get from Ritsuko for wasting time.

Coughing daintily into her hand, she gave the person nearest her-which just happened to be an obese older man-a large smile before asking, "Where can I find the Major?" The man's eyes bugged out, not at the question but at the fact she had directed her question at him, and shakily pointed towards the door nearest the back of the room.

Smiling, she gave the man a small bow, before walking towards the door with a sway to her hips and a sultry smile on her lips. When she felt the eyes of the men follow her swaying hips, her grin grew just a little bit bigger. 'I love being me sometimes.'

* * *

After a few pilot knocks, a muffled "Come in!" had come from inside the room and the voice-automated door slid open. The room was small, and if she had not been pointed here, she would have never guessed this to be the office of such a high-ranking official of the JGSDF (Japan Ground Self-Defense Force). Bookcases lined the walls, filled with toppling stacks of papers and books that looked like she'd have trouble carrying, and in the middle of the small room was a small desk that looked as if though it could barely hold the stacks of papers that were on it. Not really knowing where her superior officer was, she hesitantly snapped a salute.

"Good." She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the voice so close to her and to the left. Sitting on a small, yet comfortable looking chair was the person she had been assigned to find and retrieve. "Most people don't even bother to salute if their superior isn't in their line of sight."

Dressed in the khaki uniform most of the higher-ups wore, he looked incredibly lazy. The effect was only increased by the creases on his uniform and his slightly askew military beret and black tie. He was a slender man-'Boy,' she reminded herself-yet toned with a mess of brown hair that reminded her of Kaji's minus the pony-tail. His blue eyes were lined with creases from lack of sleep, no doubt from being in such a position of power.

"Katsuragi, Misato, I presume?" His calm and slightly indifferent voice snapped her out of her musings and she once again snapped a salute, this one more proper than her last. He nodded and stood from his chair to formally shake her hand. Misato was surprised at the gesture, most if not all of the other higher-ups would look down on other soldiers as they thought themselves better for working so hard on their career and would rarely offer their hand for a shake. She had heard nothing but good from other soldiers of the young genius that had took the academy by storm, but seeing it was definitely believing it.

"Major Ikari, Shinji. It's my pleasure to meet you."

* * *

Ikari Gendo stared down at the monitor that was connected to countless of the security cameras that littered the NERV HQ. His eyes were focused on only one of the screens which was connected to the camera that monitored the main elevator. Behind his tinted shades, his eyes narrowed, focusing in on the rather tall boy that was leaning against one of the walls in the perfect position to bolt out of the elevator or jump into the shaft above him if need be. A trained soldier, and mostly definitely a good one.

After Yui had died, Gendo had been stricken with grief and couldn't even look his own son in the face. Originally he had planned to send the boy to live with his brother until he had a need for him, but it had quickly been shot down by the man in question. He had hung up before his brother could really lay it into him about trying to abandon his only son at such a time of need.

He couldn't let the boy live with him; the mere thought of seeing the child of his beloved wife would drive him insane with grief, so he had been able to pull some strings and had the boy enlisted in the Officer Candidate Training School for the JGSDF. He had been shocked when a year later, he was notified by the president of the academy himself that his son had breezed through the regime with little effort. He hadn't attended the graduation ceremony, nor the one for the National Defense Academy of Japan (University level) a few years later, nor when the boy had been promoted to his current ranking.

At the age of fourteen, Shinji Ikari had ripped through every single record set by his predecessors and acquired the title of Major in the span of three years in active service for performing military leadership and fighting prowess in the minor wars that had followed Second Impact.

When he had learned of his son's promotion he had been stoic on the outside, but on the inside his mind had been a raging storm. The one question on his mind had been; How could such a weak child change in the span of a few years?

Pushing these thoughts into the back of his mind, as he had done countless of times beforehand, he decided it was time to alleviate the bridge crew's worries, who had been staring at his back for a few agonizing minutes of silence.

"We'll just have to reinitialize Unit 01."

Shocked silence met his deceleration, until one of the bridge crew decided to voice the general statement the rest had been thinking; "But that's impossible, there are no more pilots!"

Not turning away from the screen as he watched his son and Major Katsuragi exit the elevator, Shinji's eyes briefly looking up into the hidden camera, he answered the unspoken question; "There's no need for concern, our reserve pilot has just arrived."

* * *

"You've been here before!" Misato accused her superior, never having been much of a person for formality. The chuckle she received as answer alleviated her slight worry of the young Major being a tight-up asshole like the rest of his colleagues.

"Of course. As Major in the JGSDF, I'm important enough to have been given the full tour of the notorious NERV HQ." The sarcasm in his voice was palpable and it brought a giggle to the beautiful Captain. The slight dip of his voice at the "full" part of his statement alerted Misato to the fact that Shinji knew a little too much about NERV's on-goings. "So tell me Katsuragi-san, why is it that Ikari-san called for me?" Misato didn't hear any sort of hostility come from the dark-haired boy at the casual mention of his father, but she was smart and high enough on the chain to know just how talented some people could be at masking their true feelings.

"Please, call me Misato!" She gave him a sultry smile, though was slightly put off as the only reaction she received was a slight widening of Shinji's lips. "But as to why you're here, well I guess Ritsuko-ahh, she's part of the first engineering division and the supervisor of Project E-will be able to tell you that once we get there." She had received only a slight nod from the boy Major, as if though he already knew this, which she didn't doubt that he did.

With a small noise the elevator came to a stop, and they were able to step out, Shinji's eyes lingering on one of the corners before he too exited. They continued to walk and as they reached a corner, Shinji wasn't all that surprised when a person slammed into him, feminine from the faint smell of perfume that lingered underneath a more volatile one. With fast reflexes, he deftly moved his body so that he wouldn't fall over and at the same time reached out to grab the person that had bumped into him. He wasn't classified a genius for nothing.

"Ritsuko!" Turning slightly, he noticed that the purple haired Captain had rushed up to the blond and started teasing her for being so unaware of her surroundings that escalated into a full-blown out argument. After a few minutes of amusement on Shinji's part, he decided that they had wasted enough time. Coughing lightly, the two women immediately stopped their arguing. The blond looked surprised at the sight of him and her eyes scanned him, a glint of familiarity shining in her dark eyes, "Ah, Major Ikari, you've arrived." Her eyes narrowed as she regarded Misato, "No thanks to you, Captain Katsuragi!" A huff was her only reply.

Turning back to the amused looking dark haired boy, 'He looks so much like Gendo; give him a beard and glasses and they'd be twins!' she decided that it was time to stop the time-wasting. "Please follow me, Major. There's something that I-we-need to show you before you meet the commander."

* * *

Shinji ignored the blaring alarm that sounded around him, opting to focus on the gigantic purple horned head; dulled green eyes staring straight at him. If not for his training and the horrors he had seen in the wars, he would have been terrified at the creature that reminded him of a devil. Now, the only emotion that ran through him was a slight irritation. 'This was what NERV has spent countless of years perfecting?' He nearly snorted, but held it off. 'Pathetic, at least the JSSDF (Japan Strategic Self Defense Force - Which is controlled by the UN while the J(G/A/M)SDF is controlled directly by Japan) didn't hide their plans for that robot from us.'

"So NERV has a robot." His voice was flat and his eyes regarded the blond doctor with only the slightest amount of interest. Both women looked shocked at his response, both having expected some form of shock.

Ignoring the peculiarity of the third child, Ritsuko went into her rant about the 'robot' not actually being a 'robot' but an "Evangelion; a man made all-purpose battle weapon!" This time, Shinji did snort, "Right...so you have a fancy robot." His eyes snapped towards an alcove a few feet above and behind the Eva's head where he had immediately noticed a shadowed form, ignoring the indignant shouts from the blond scientist.

"Ikari Shinji, I've been expecting you."

Ritsuko's words died in her mouth as she followed the gaze of the child and found him staring straight at the origin of the voice; Gendo Ikari. The man stood in his usual ram-rod stance, hands clasped behind his back and eyes hidden behind orange-tinted glasses. In her mind, Ritsuko couldn't help but be impressed by his dramatics, a complete contrast to the thoughts of the two others that stood on the bridge beside her.

"Ikari, Gendo; Commander of NERV. Why is it that you requested me to come here?" Shinji had worded it in such a way that it stressed the older Ikari's inability to order him around. The cool unfamiliarity between the two wasn't a surprise, after all the two men in power hadn't communicated in ten years.

"To ride her." Gendo had easily ignored the barb to his status in power and simply deigned to answer the question, he wasn't speaking to any other child, but to a trained Veteran.

The effect was immediate, though not from who he had expected it from; "Wait a moment, Commander! It took even _Rei _seven months to synchronize with the Eva - remember! He probably wouldn't even be able to control, let alone fight in it!" His Captain seemed shocked at the prospect and Gendo couldn't help but question the woman's intelligence. Before Ritsuko could rail the woman, as he knew she would, he began, "In case you have not noticed, the person in question is the Major of the JGSDF, those who specialize in ground tactics, which includes hand-to-hand combat. He is obviously adequate in that he achieved such a title at the age of _ten_." Gendo saw that the Captain's defenses were crumbling and her anger and incredulity was edging away. He decided that this final statement was going to drive it home, "Are you questioning your superior's abilities?" A shocked look passed the beautiful woman's features and she immediately began apologizing to the calm looking brown-haired boy, who waved her off with a simple nod, eyes still focused on Gendo.

"Am I the only available pilot?" Gendo smiled grimly, already having known that any sense of bitterness from his 'son' would not get in the way with his code to keep the people of his country safe; his status as Major of the military sworn to protect the Japanese citizens would not allow for anything but. "Yes." Gendo wasn't the type to sugar-coat things. "Dr. Akagi, show the Major how to pilot Unit 01."

* * *

Shinji stared at himself in the mirror of the bathroom he had been escorted to, a simple black plugsuit - as the blond doctor had called it - thrust into his arms. After discarding his clothes and bundling them up, he had slipped into the plugsuit, ignoring the slight discomfort his boxers caused as they flattened against his crotch. Trying not to pick at the material that covered his crotch, he stepped out, thinking that despite the discomfort, he looked rather good in the skin-tight suit. The appraising look Ritsuko had given him only further boosted his ego.

Now he sat in the comfortable seat inside the slim capsule, his hands grasping the butterfly handles loosely, eyes forward. He closed his eyes when he felt a warm liquid touch his feet and slowly rise up his legs, taking deep breaths as he pushed down the instinctual feeling of panic and tried to ignore the smell of blood that came with the warm liquid. He paid only half attention to the words that were ringing around the "cock-pit" and the explanation of what the liquid was. He breathed out and felt the liquid sliding in through his mouth and nostrils, oozing into his body in a way that made his skin crawl, though he did not show the displeasure on his features.

"Remember, Major; In order to move the Evangelion, you must concentrate and focus your thoughts on the concept of what you want it to do. Think walk, or jump, or grab, etc." The fact that Ritsuko actually said the "etc." caused him to snort, and the feeling of the liquid rushing out before rushing back in caused him to grimace. Misato actually laughed at him. "No good underlings" he grumbled, which only caused Misato to laugh even harder. This stopped when suddenly the entire building they were in began shaking uncontrollably. Screams and shouts filled his cockpit from the people on the bridge.

"Hurry, the Angel has found our location, we need to launch the Eva now!"

* * *

"Why didn't anyone tell me this thing could fucking shine a bright light out of its chest!" Shinji was angry; the one thing he hated was going into a situation blind, and this was definitely one of those situations. He had done a few warm ups with the Eva and, much to the bridge crew's surprise was able to easily walk and jump over buildings, as well as dodge some of the Angel's powerful attacks.

The one thing he hadn't accounted for as he charged in, was for the blasted thing to shine a light out of that orb in its chest and cause him to trip and fall off to the side. Forcing the Eva to stand up, he glared at the smug looking thing. How he knew it was smug was beyond him, but right now the only thing he had in mind was this monster's destruction. "Don't I have a weapon of some kind or am I going to have to rip this thing with my bare hands?" He had to admit, it wouldn't be the first time. Taking the bridge's silence as an answer, he rushed in, deftly avoiding a strike from the Angel, whose long arms he definitely didn't want to get caught in, and slammed the Eva's fist into the monster's elbow.

He ignored the shouts of success from the bridge crew and moved in to wrap the Eva's hand around the Angel's shoulder and armpit, and with a strain he was able to dislocate the entire arm. Jumping back, he avoided a swipe from the Angel's other arm. Smirking to himself, he stared the Angel down for a second before rushing back in, not giving it the chance to recuperate or some other bullshit like that. This time, the Angel was more prepared and shone it's light again, but Shinji didn't bother to cover "his" face and simply ordered the Eva to move faster, slamming into the Angel and forcing it against a building. A second later, pain shot through Shinji's shoulder. Not having been prepared, he gasped and jumped back, hands clutching his shoulder/the Eva clutching its shoulder.

"It's okay Shinji, the pain you just felt isn't really yours, it's simply the connection you have with the Eva." Scowling, he removed his hand and grabbed the handle's a little more forcefully then before, "Should've told me that before I got in this thing, you moron." He was used to criticizing his subordinates whenever they made mistakes. He didn't do it frequently, but with his position of power he had to or else his troops would get complacent and end up making a great deal of mistakes, thinking they wouldn't face any repercussions. "Sorry, Major." Was the subdued reply from the Captain, who knew the harsh reprimand had been directed at her as she was the one in charge at this point.

Snorting, and ignoring the discomfort that the motion caused inside the LCL - he reminded himself to never do that again - he charged in once again, this time forcing the Eva to move faster. Easily dodging the thrust of the Angel's arm, he didn't bother being as gentle and simply grabbed the offending appendage while slamming the Eva's foot into its chest, right where the orb was, and pulling the arm at the same time. The power behind the kick and the pull ripped the arm right off, much to Shinji's surprise. Blood sprayed out of the wound and Shinji didn't bother to act out his surprise, instead taking the advantage and jumping onto, literally, the angel. Rearing the Eva's arm back, he slammed the closed fist right into the less injured shoulder of the Angel, before rearing the arm back and doing so once again, and again before ripping off the arm as he had done with the other.

Flipping back, just in time to avoid another golden beam of energy that would have slammed into Unit 01's belly, he took a stance, watching the shuddering Angel as it tried to stand on its feet. Without arms to help, it seemed rather futile, and Shinji would have laughed at it if the situation weren't so serious. The bridge was oddly silent, but he did have a slight understanding as to why, you don't see such brutality every day. Smirking, he began walking towards the flopping Angel, the Eva's hands clenching into a fist, his eyes locked on the red orb that was on the monster's chest. As he neared it, he noticed it starting to brighten, and having an idea as to what it was doing, sped up, despite the yells and shouts of him to fall back.

Reaching it in a matter of seconds, he slammed the fist into the red orb, the power behind the punch easily breaking through it and deep into the beast's body. Hands clasping onto what he assumed the things heart to be he crushed it effortlessly, the light as well as the bridge's protests dying along with it. Smirking, he pulled the hand out and turned away from the body, "Mission accomplished."

* * *

Shinji sat in the lobby of NERV's hospital, where his 'father' had requested to meet him; apparently the man had something, or someone from what he could tell - they were in a hospital after all - to show him. He was watching the news, the reporter was doing a play by play of what had occurred yesterday, starting from when the JGSDF had failed, he was thinking about finding the reporter and savagely beating him for the way he talked so badly about his troops, to the demise of the Angel. "Major Ikari." Turning his head slightly, he spotted the commander of NERV standing a few feet behind him. The bearded man stared at him for a few seconds before turning and walking, a signal to follow him. Rolling his eyes at the power play, he stood up and sped up so that he were standing shoulder to bicep with the man. Gendo gave him a glance before nodding simply and Shinji couldn't help but smile slightly. He knew how to work politicians and power hungry men; Gendo was just another "notch on his belt," so to speak.

After a few minutes of walking, they ended up standing in front of an unremarkable door, though it did have a security pad stationed beside it, so the person it housed was definitely important. After punching in the numbers, not bothering to so much as hide it, Gendo motioned for him to step in first. Ignoring the play this time, more interested on who was behind the door, he stepped inside and Gendo followed. The room was meant for a single occupant and the bed was hidden behind a curtain. Gendo gave him a nod before walking forward and pulling the curtain to the side, revealing the bed and its occupant.

She was heavily bandaged and looked as if though she were about to die. Despite this, she was definitely awake. Her eyes were a crimson color and were staring up at his 'father' with a glint of respect and the tiniest glimmer of affection, which both Ikari's saw.

"How are you doing Rei?" His hand lightly rested on her forehead as he bent down to stare into her eyes. He looked like an actual father, and if Shinji were a different person he would have felt bitter resentment at the sight. Now, he just felt a slight amount of awkwardness for intruding on such an intimate moment, but mostly indifference. Straightening, Gendo turned to Shinji and appraised his facial expression and was apparently satisfied with what he saw as he nodded, "Major Ikari, meet Rei; my adoptive daughter and pilot of Unit 00." An upturn of his eyebrow was the only indication that Shinji was surprised at the fact that this girl was technically his sister.

Stepping forward, he offered her a small smile, much to Gendo's surprise - though he obviously didn't show it - and bowed ever so slightly, "Greetings Miss. Rei, or should I call you 'Sister?'" The tone of amusement was clear to everyone in the room, and Gendo felt a small amount of pride swell in his chest before discarding it.

Rei's eyes regarded him, drinking in his appearance, a small blush adorning her features at the joke. She knew who this was, and she was secretly awed at him. She had read of the exploits of a young genius that she had found in her adoptive father's office, looking through them with awe and a slight amount of hero-worship; most of the articles detailing his rise in ranks in the war between China and Vietnam. She had read his report and had heard of his skill in Unit 01, and though while she would have been jealous of his skills, she knew that he was definitely a prodigy at nearly everything he did; piloting a gigantic robot was simply another thing to add to his impressive resume.

"Shinji-san" Gendo's eyebrows rose at this, Rei hardly - if ever - called anyone by their given name, this was something he definitely had to look into, "it is a..." The commander of NERV knew that she was trying to remember the phrase, seeing as how she never used it "pleasure to meet you?" In the end it sounded more of a question than a statement, though the chuckle that came from the younger Ikari alleviated her of any sort of worry.

"No Rei, it is my pleasure to meet you."

If Gendo had been a more devious or ill-hearted man, he would have been furious at the blush that rose on the pale girl's cheeks. Being the slightly more caring, if not showing it to anyone but Rei - and that was only in private - man he only felt a small amount of protectiveness at the sight. He would let whatever feelings Rei was developing or had for the Third Child alone, outwardly showing indifference, while on the inside silently cheering his only child on. He grew worried when he saw Rei's complexion pale once again, before she began coughing rather violently, blood coming out of her mouth. The strain of piloting Unit 01 before the Major had took her place had definitely affected her, and with a look to the dark-haired boy, that clearly stated it was time for him to leave, he hurried out to call for a nurse.

With a brief look back at the-still-coughing girl, he stepped out of the room and towards the lobby to exit back to his home, not having been there in a few days. A vibration in the pocket of his black shorts alerted him to a call. Touching the sleek black phone, he raised it to his ear and asked, "What is it?"

There was a scurrying of papers on the other side before he heard the voice of his personal assistant, "Ikari-sama, there seems to be a problem with your living arrangements."

Pausing, he definitely didn't want to hear the rest of what his assistant had to say. Sighing, "What is it?" he responded, irritation clear in his voice.

His assistant had heard him with that tone countless of times, so she was only slightly annoyed; "Well, it seems that the monster hadn't caused too much property damage, but it had destroyed a small sector of the residents area. The sector that you owned."

A tick formed on his eyebrow; how awfully convenient. Turning slightly, he stared at the back of Gendo Ikari, who had just rushed by. For a brief second, Gendo's eyes had moved and had locked with his own and a small, nearly unnoticeable smile had appeared on his face. Nearly growling, he replied to his silent assistant, "Fine, don't bother setting up a hotel; I already have other arrangements." Shutting off his phone, he slipped it back into his pocket and began walking towards the general direction the commander of NERV had disappeared to. A voice halted his movement, "Shinji-kun!"

Turning, he regarded the Captain that had been placed in NERV, his face losing the slight annoyance, "Katsuragi-san." She sighed dramatically, a small smile curving her lips, "Please, Shinji-kun, call me "Misato!"" Rolling his eyes, he simply nodded, "Fine. What is it you need Misato-san?" A tick appeared on the woman's brow, though she wiped the look from her face, replacing it with a honeyed smile.

"Oh, I just came to pick you up. The Commander heard of the destruction of your housing" Shinji snorted, though Misato ignored him, "and he was able to process the proper paperwork for you to live in a NERV designated condo in Tokyo-3!" Misato looked positively gleeful as she leaned in, her face only inches away from his own, though he didn't show any other emotion besides the slightly bored one he had worn throughout their conversation, "Right next to my own." This time, a slight worry crossed his mind before he quickly discarded it, 'What's the worst that could happen.'

* * *

It had been nearly a week since he had arrived in the small condo designated by NERV, and in the span of a few days he had felt more irritation than he had in his entire life. Every time he left the condo, Misato would be right outside, pestering him about inane subjects; "Why don't you go to High School? It'd be a great way for you to meet more people your age!" and "You should really stop focusing so much on your work, you need to relax!" or maybe even, "Can you help me with my chores!"

He had replied to each one of her questions with a flat, "Because I don't want to." She would huff and puff about it, only becoming more annoying. He was nearing the limit of his patience. The fact that he was getting countless of calls from Ritsuko for coming in and doing synchronization tests only increased his annoyance; though he eventually blocked her number. When his cellphone started vibrating, he was already in the process of chucking it when he saw that it wasn't a private number. Sighing, he clicked the 'Receive' button and put the phone to his ear.

"There is an incoming Angel," The flat voice of the commander of NERV greeted him, "Head to the local High School and pick up Rei. Keep her safe."

The clicking of the dial on the other line alerted Shinji to the end of the order. Sighing, he grabbed a gray sweatshirt from a small pile off to the side of his room and slipped it on before slipping on a pair of gray loafers, the only footwear he could find in his hurried state. Cursing when he noticed he was still in his boxers, he rushed back to his room and quickly put on a pair of jeans before running back to the door, grabbing his NERV ID on the way out.

* * *

I actually liked this one.


	2. Chapter 2

"Woah, did you see that car!"

"Isn't that a military issue vehicle?"

"WHAT! The military? Here!" Aida Kensuke ignored the glares and not so subtle jibes from his fellow classmates, he didn't care; he had heard it all at some point in his life. Being such a military buff and otaku had given him a bad reputation among the student populace, but he wasn't the type of person to really care about their opinions; they were sheep after all. He immediately recognized the vehicle as being a Komatsu LAV (Armored Jeep) that had a green and brown fatigue paint job, 'Why would the military come to such a rundown shit hole like this?' He leaned forward, face practically pressed against the glass as he tried to catch a glimpse of who was in the jeep. After a few minutes, the door slid open and the person that exited the armored jeep looked rather unremarkable, except that he carried himself like any other soldier would and that from what Kensuke could see, could be no older than he himself was. A frown crossed his features, 'Probably some no-name Private that has family here.' Sighing in disgust, he turned back and sat at his seat, clearly disappointed.

What no one noticed was the fact that a few rows back Ayanami Rei was leaning against the edge of her chair as she stared down at the jeep and the messy-haired individual that was walking towards the High School's entrance, her eyes widened in surprise and a nearly unnoticeable smile set on her pink lips, 'Shinji-san!'

* * *

Shinji glared at the expansive hallway he was walking in; this was why he hated schools. Everywhere he turned the hallways and classroom doors looked the same, and if it weren't for the nearly unnoticeable numbers he would have thought that he was walking around in circles. Sighing in frustration, he ran a hand through his hair and continued in his steady pace. Nearly sighing in relief at the sound of children talking, he sped up until he was in front of another unremarkable door. Not bothering to knock, he was used to never having to knock on doors; there were only three people that were higher on the chain than he was and they were all up north in the JASSDF HQ, he slid the door open and walked into the classroom. All conversation inside the small room seemed to drop to simply a mutter and Shinji easily ignored all the eyes that were on him. Eyes scanning the room, he found Rei all the way in the back, looking over to him with a slightly confused look. Nodding at her, he motioned for her to stand up and follow him and after a few moments, she had grabbed her things and was moving towards the door.

"Excuse me, but what is it that you need?" He turned his head towards the girl that had asked the question; she was a pretty thing with freckles and pony-tails and had an air of self-importance. Raising an eye-brow at the girl, he smirked in amusement; she was probably the class head or representative from the way she carried herself, "I'm here to pick up Ayanami Rei-san, there appears to be some problems at NERV." Whatever it was that the girl had expected, it clearly wasn't that as she took a step back in shock. "N-NERV? Ayanami and NERV?" There was a brief pause before the entire class went into an uproar; "Ayanami works at NERV!" was the common question being thrown around. Shinji ignored them as he turned, lightly grasping the blue-haired girls elbow and leading her out of the room.

"OY!" Shinji would have ignored the voice if the person in question hadn't rushed out and stood in their way. The tall boy was dressed in a tracksuit and had an angry look on his face; "If ya work at NERV then you must know who the bastard pilot of that robot is!" Shinji glared at the boy, before composing his features into a small smug smirk, "Yeah, _we_ know him, what is it to you?" Rei turned to stare at the young Ikari , eyes large and calculating; 'What is he up to?' Suzuhara Toji's eyes narrowed as he glared at the boy, it was obvious the guy was mocking him; "That bastard and his stupid robot crushed a hospital," Shinji's eyebrows lifted, why hadn't his assistant told him this? "the one where my sister was being treated! Now she's lying in some other hospital with a cast around her legs and its all that guys fault!" The boy's eyes were fierce as he stared at the two of them, no doubt wanting to harm the pilot - or more importantly; Shinji.

Shinji's smirk grew as he nonchalantly commented, "What if I told you the pilot was standing right in front of you?" Suzuhara's eyes widened before snapping to Ayanmi, fury coloring his features as his hand tightened into a fist - he didn't like hitting girls, but this was one exception he could make. Rei didn't even seem worried as the fist neared her. At the last second, the knuckles only centimeters away, a hand clamped against Toji's wrist. Eyes widening, he nearly shit himself at the glare that was being directed at him; courtesy of the dark-haired boy that he had completely forgot was there in his rage. He gulped and didn't even see the elbow that slammed against his face.

Toji groaned from the floor, eyes widening when he felt a hand grab the collar of his tracksuit and hoist him up. Dark blue eyes stared into his own and the dirty-blond couldn't help but feel that he had made a grave mistake acting so irrationally. "Listen to me, kid - and this goes for the rest of you as well," The eaves-dropping class flinched before paying more attention than before. Kensuke's eyes were wide as he stared at the face of the person that had effortlessly downed his best friend; he knew who this was! "If I ever so much as hear that someone attacked Ayanami for being a pilot, I will personally come down here and kick every single one of your asses." No one moved, or so much as breathed as they took in the threat. "Is that clear?" He barked, and they jumped, nodding furiously. Toji whimpered when a fist connected with his gut and the violent male dropped him to the floor. Shinji crouched down to stare into the boys eyes, "If I hear you did it, you better head home and say your goodbyes to your family." It wasn't a threat, and Toji knew it. He watched the boy leave, Ayanami in tow, and only one thought crossed his mind, 'Who is that guy?'

* * *

"I am not wearing this." Ritsuko glared at the boy-genius - if he wasn't her superior she would have been biting his head off and chewing it right about now; "It's not even all that bad, Major. If you want we can go bring you a purple one that matches the Eva." The glare that Shinji had been sending the blue and white plug suit in his hand turned to Ritsuko, who wore a honeyed smile. The staring contest didn't let up, until Shinji broke in with, "Depends, Akagi-san, do these things even do anything besides make me uncomfortable?"

Ritsuko blinked, not having expected a question. Shrugging, she decided that if he would give her the benefit of the doubt he wasn't such a bad guy. "The plug suits contain various health monitoring devices to monitor the pilot's condition, as well as medical aid such as built-in defibrillators. It also has some basic system displays, such as an internal clock that displays how much internal battery power remains in the Eva, located on the back of the hand."

Nodding, Shinji gave the suit one more glare before turning back to the blond, "Alright, that all sounds fine, but I thought the LCL did those things as well?" Ritsuko blinked before slowly nodding.

"Indee..."

"So then they're not really required." Ritsuko sighed before throwing her hands in the air and walking away - essentially waving the white flag.

"Is it wise to cause so much grief for Dr. Akagi?" Rei's tone wasn't accusing - only speculative as she watched her fellow pilot. Shinji smiled at her, lightly patting her head, "Don't worry about it, Rei; the good doctor has given me just as much grief and more. I think she needs a little bit for herself." Rei gave a hesitant and small nod, fingers toying with the hem of her blue school uniform, eyes on the floor. She usually didn't act in such a hesitant and shy manner, but this side of her always came out whenever the young Ikari was around. Rei tended to watch the boy in the three weeks he had been at NERV whenever he was near; and seeing as how his office had been relocated inside the HQ, she saw him often. She had also noticed his slight glances, and couldn't help but blush ever so slightly at the idea that the Major might find her attractive. Hiding her slightly reddened face, she looked up at the relaxed boy through the blue bangs that hid her flushed face, toying with the idea of being attracted to the young Ikari - he was certainly attractive enough. From what she had learned by listening in to the conversations that his name were mentioned in, others definitely did - older female employees described him as "handsome; especially with that boyish charm of his."

* * *

"All personnel, prepare for level one combat!" This was one of the things that Misato loved about her job; being able to boss around so many people. She was grinning and basking in her authority, "We can hear you quite fine, Misato." and then everything came crashing down. Grumbling slightly, she felt her cheeks brighten at the light chuckles that the bridge crew as well as Ritsuko had on her behalf.

"It's funny how instead of you being in charge while both the Commander and sub-commander are away, the Major is the one he chooses." Misato grumbled some more, her eyes narrowing as she glared at her blond friend; who had purposely stated that in order to get deeper under her skin. "Shut up," she muttered, eyes turning away from her friend and back on to the screen that had a clear view of the incoming Angel; "we have a dick monster to kill."

* * *

"What the hell do you mean that you're firing missiles at the thing?" If anything could piss Shinji Ikari off, it was insubordination. Before he had climbed into Unit 01 he had called his Captain - who was second-in-command to his company (a group of platoons) stationed in Tokyo-3 - and told him explicitly that they were not to waste any of their ammo on the giant phallic monster. A few minutes of sitting in the Eva, his phone had started ringing. It had been his third-in-command telling him that the missiles he had ordered fired had no effect on the creature. "Did that moron Yassa tell you that I ordered this?" A shaky yes from the other line only further angered him. Shutting off the phone, he slipped it back into his pocket - he had been told that the LCL took properties similar to that of oxygen and wouldn't harm electronics - and roughly grabbed the butterfly handles for the Eva; vowing to personally find his Captain and kick the old manipulative man's ass. Glancing at the corner of the full dimensional screen of the plug, he caught the sight of the ridiculous looking Angel and decided that it was going to have to take his frustration so he didn't end up killing the old Captain.

The small grin on his features gave worry to the men and women on the bridge; who had seen his expressions from the start of the conversation to the end. 'Poor bastard' they all thought, shaking their heads at the thought of someone crossing the young Major.

* * *

Aida Kensuke stared at the sight that played before him, his jaw unhinged. This was the mighty power of NERV; he would worship the pilot of the giant robot for years to come and would gladly kiss the person's ass the next time they saw them! The fact that he thought it was Rei was beside the fact.

When he had first noticed the Angel, he had been disgusted at the sight - what kind of a terrorist group were they fighting! - but was amazed when he saw the huge purple robot step out of one of the buildings; carrying an over sized rifle. He cheered when the Eva had jumped into the air in a magnificent arc and had immediately fired a dozen shots at the unmoving monster; each shot hitting the giant creature dead on - causing a huge dust cloud to form. A few moments later, and Kensuke being incredibly disappointed at the lack of fight; thinking it already over, a long neon purple whip shout of the dust cloud and cut the over-sized gun in two.

The Eva didn't even pause, discarding the useless weapon and grabbing the whip, pulling at it with all it's strength. The giant creature swung out of the debris cloud, and the Eva was prepared; rearing a closed fist into its gigantic head. The fist never made contact, though, as the lithe Angel dodged the attack, and sent its whips to slam against the Eva, which had deftly back-flipped to avoid the powerful beams of light - that had seconds later sliced through one of the buildings the Eva had been using as support.

Suddenly, the gigantic robot was on the defensive; flipping, spinning, and jumping over the incredibly long whips of energy, avoiding them by what seemed to be a hairs-length.

* * *

Shinji scowled to himself as he was once again forced to jump over one of the purple whips, reaching out to grab it - easily pushing the slight burning of his hand into the back of his mind - and tried to pull the blasted Angel closer for an attack. He growled when the massive creature didn't even seem to budge, its tail buried deep into the earth for leverage. Scowling, he ignored the shouts from the bridge crew and the orders from Misato to grab the replacement rifle that she had sent him in order to dodge one of the whips yet again. He nearly snorted at the idea - though stopped himself as he didn't want to face the discomfort of the LCL again - and had to question the woman's intelligence. She had just seen that the rifle's shots had done nothing to the Angel, not even a mark, and she was ordering him to once again try an obviously useless tactic? This time he did snort.

Deciding that his only chance was getting close to the blasted thing, he rushed in, dodging the whips gracefully with fast maneuvering. Reaching the giant behemoth in a matter of seconds, he jumped forward and slammed both fist into the thing's abdomen. What he didn't expect was for it's chest to splay open and showcase a skeletal frame. 'Oh shit' was the only thought he could formulate before he felt the thing's whips wrap around the Eva's chest and fling him away; though he did catch a good view of the large crimson orb that was hidden underneath the massive head.

* * *

Kensuke had definitely pissed himself. The two had been shocked and incredibly terrified when they saw the gigantic robot head for the mountain that they had been watching the fight from; but Toji hadn't expected for Kensuke to piss his pants in fear. What he had expected was to be crushed underneath the garish robot. Whimpering, Toji held his head in his hands, rocking back and forth, his eyes locked onto the robot's form as it held the purple tentacle-things in place. He was going to die; he just knew it. The robot may have not crushed him like a pancake, but those whips were definitely going to cut him into piece. He couldn't help but whimper again, though in his mind he was still definitely way more manlier than Kensuke. If he survived this, which he highly doubted, he was never going to let the boy live this day down.

"Oi, you two idiots!" His head snapped up at the sound of a voice coming from the robot; _it could speak_! "Get your asses inside this thing or die!" Toji was seriously considering the latter, but his choice was decided for him when Kensuke grabbed him and practically dragged him towards the struggling purple monstrosity; far too eager in his opinion. When they had finally reached the thing, he couldn't help but wonder how the hell they were going to be getting all the way up there. His unasked question was answered when the robot lowered itself until the slim white capsule was only a few feet off the ground. Shrugging he was able to jump up and grab onto the open hatchet, climbing up and into the thing with Kensuke close behind.

The assault of liquid forcefully caught them by surprise, and they inhaled the foul smelling substance; surprised at the fact that their body wasn't trying to hack the alien liquid out. Getting over their surprise, they were finally able to take in their surroundings. Shouts and cries of "The Eva only has a three more minutes of back-up energy!" and "Why did you let those kids into the plug! You need to listen to me Shinji, you had a variety of other options!" filled their ears and they were surprised at the chaos of noise in such a small space. "Misato, shut the fuck up!" The slightly fimaliar voice caught the two teenagers by surprise. Looking down, they spotted the kid from earlier sitting in a large egg-shaped chair. "In case you forgot, I'm in command of NERV right now and you literally have no say as to what I do with this purple monstrosity right now." The spluttering from the other line only gave the two teenagers even more questions, though the most obvious one was; 'This guy is in charge of NERV? Wasn't it that glasses-wearing guy called Ikari Gendo?'

Shinji glanced over his shoulders at the two idiots that had escaped the safety of their shelters, "Listen you two morons. What I need for you two to do is to stay quiet and not bother me!" Neither of the two gave any sign of being insulted at being called "morons" and gave obedient nods, eyes staring straight at the giant screen that showcased the violet and pink monstrosity. Nodding, Shinji turned back to the huge screen in front of him.

Grunting he grasped the butterfly handles even tighter, enjoying the peace and quiet he had achieved from both parties and smirked, it was time to get serious. With a large heave, he had the angel flying down into him, a foot awaiting its giant form. He could hear a slight cracking come from the Angel and grinned savagely at the victory before using the Eva's considerable strength to throw it off him. Forcing the Eva to stand up, he deployed the "Progressive Knife" and grabbed it from the compartment its handle had appeared from, ordering the Eva to hold it the specific way he had been trained to handle military-issue knives.

"Major," Shinji ignored the slight bitter undertone in Misato's tone, "You need to fall back! You have only two minutes of back-up battery left and you definitely won't be killing the Angel in that time frame." Behind him, Toji and Kensuke mouthed the word 'Angel' to each other with confused looks. Not bothering to respond to the purple-haired Captain; he ordered Unit 01 to leap forward and at the same time ignoring the cries from his passengers and the bridge. Using his perfecting piloting skills he was able to maneuver the Eva so that it was able to deftly dodge the whip-attacks from the angel and forced it to move even faster. He stifled the cry of pain as he felt the whips slam into the Eva's stomach from behind and forced the purple behemoth to jump forward, progressive knife at the ready.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0." He barely made out Aoba Shigeru's voice counting down the time left on the Eva's battery as he thrust the knife into the crimson orb underneath the Angel's head; the orb cracking underneath the Eva's thrust power.

* * *

Shinji sighed tiredly as he stepped out of the showers, a towel clasped around his waist. Grabbing a different one, he used it to towel off his hair before resting it around his neck. "Why didn't you fall back?" Misato glared at the dark-haired boy, eyes staring firmly into his own - she was trying not to look down and stare at the toned body that could have only come from his time on duty. "As your operations supervisor I have an obligation to protect you and therefore you have an obligation to listen to my orders!" Shinji regarded her for a few seconds before coughing lightly, "Why are you in the men's shower room?"

The question had clearly caught her off guard as she opened her mouth, visibly stopping and then furiously shaking her head; an ugly scowl adorning her otherwise pretty face. "Stop it! Stop brushing off my questions and then asking your own!" She was clearly angry as she leveled her angry stare once again on his face.

Chuckling lightly, Shinji leaned against one of the large lockers, crossing his arms over his chest as he regarded the purple-haired Captain with an amused smile. "You really think that you have the right to order me around?" He chuckled lightly, running a hand through his damp messy hair - an action that Misato would later admit she had found rather sexy - before bring it back down. "Tell me Katsuragi, why it is that you think you can order me, _Major _Ikari Shinji around." He never really liked throwing the weight of his position around, but when it came to putting people below his rank in place it was definitely the easiest way.

Misato looked uncomfortable at the question, averting her angry gaze away and concentrating it on the wall a few feet away. "You need to understand this Misato; I am not a person to take lightly. I have been on active duty longer than you have and have earned the respect of all of my troops and of nearly every one of my peers." Misato felt slender fingers gently grasp her chin and gently turn her head so she was once again facing him. "I am sorry if I slighted you in anyway, but you need to understand that I am your superior and that while you can suggest something, I am ultimately the one that controls what I do or don't do." His eyes were intense as they stared into her own, and Misato finally understood why this child - No...man - had earned such a position at his age. "Are we clear?" She slowly nodded, her eyes staying locked with her superiors, and was surprised when a smile came to his face. "Good. Now if you don't mind, I still need to get changed, unless you want to stay here and help me..?" The laughter followed her out of the room as she ran out of the room in embarrassment, her face tinted a light shade of pink and a small smile curving her lips.

'Looks like I was wrong about him after all. He isn't just some spoiled kid; this guy is the real deal. Kind, thoughtful, and respectful; the perfect leader.' Her smile grew as she glanced behind her back and to the door leading into the locker room, 'The perfect Major.'

* * *

Author's Note:

Woo boy. Well at least that gets some of the questions out of the way.

No this will not be a harem fic; though I don't really have a true pairing set. You guys can write a comment about who you'd prefer him to be set up with if you want.

Also: Thanks for the reviews. Cheers!


	3. Chapter 3

The burly man stood in front of a darkly polished desk, lightly shaking and with perspiration sliding down his face and mingling in with his grizzled beard. He was nervously looking around, trying to find something to focus on so he could possibly try to ignore the intense stare that was practically boring a hole through his face. Shinji was not amused, and it showed clearly on his impassive features; chin lightly resting on his steepled fingers - something he had taken to doing often when around his military subordinates.

"Tell me Yassa. Why did you purposely ignore my orders?" Shinji's voice was calm and shadowed the furious state he was actually in.

Gulping, the burly Captain tried to keep the shake out of his voice, "I was only doing what I thought was best for our comp-"

"By going against the orders of your superior?" Shinji's voice was flat as he cut into the Captain's excuse, leveling a cold glare at the stupid man who dare try to justify his insubordination. The fact that he was hiding behind the "good of the company" only further enraged the young Ikari. "No, you were not acting on the 'good of the company.'" He mocked, standing up and slowly moving around the desk until he was right in front of the man. Despite being a head or two shorter than him, he did not look up. "You were acting on your own selfish agenda; no doubt trying to pin the blame on me when the Chief of Staff made the call and asked who had made such a stupid order and cost the government a great deal of money." He ignored the man's sputtering of "No, Sir!"

Yassa, by now was sweating bullets and blinking hard. He knew what would come next and the burly man's pride was the only thing that stopped him from begging the boy-Major for forgiveness. "Tell me Yassa, what rank am I?"

Blinking, the Captain was completely thrown off guard. Hesitantly, he opened his mouth to answer, "Major, sir?" A small chuckle escaped his superior and when Yassa felt a hand lightly grasp the tag that was pinned to his fatigues - that had the insignia for his rank - he finally looked down. His superior's lips were pulled into an indifferent line, though the furious glint in his eyes clearly shone the dark-haired boy's true emotions.

"Good. I know that you know I'm the commander of this company. Not the Chief of Staff, not the Colonel, and definitely not the Major General. Why is that former Captain of the JGSDF?" After being in the JGSDF for over thirty years, climbing the ranks from private all the way up to Captain; he had no where else to go. He wasn't old enough to retire, nor was he experienced enough in any other field - having never gone to college - in order to go into a different career. The military had been his life since he had graduated from High school and in a few minutes this life he had valiantly created for himself would be officially over. He would be just another nameless civilian with no true purpose and with no desire to live. This would have normally made him furious enough to attack the boy; but they both knew that the younger male could easily dispatch him and then he would be just another prison inmate for having assaulted a military soldier. So he did the only thing he could do - he cried.

Sobbing the graying-man answered the question, "B-because we are sanctioned by the government... t-t-to work independently for the protection of Tokyo-3 under your command, M-major!"

Shinji nodded and slowly let his hand drop to his side, a smile lighting his features. "Correct. I am allowing you the opportunity to officially resign, Fumenboku Yassa. Will you decide your own fate?" A shaky nod was his response, tears still sliding down the man's face and mixing in with the sweat that accumulated in his beard. "Good. Salute your superior." Yassa did so, the sound level coming from the man increasing when Shinji did the same - understanding that this would be the last time he would ever receive one that wasn't in jest.

"Now, get out of my office."

* * *

"Are you ready for your reactivation test, Rei?" Shinji asked, leaning against a wall that was adjacent to the changing room that Rei was currently in - prepping for her test. He had, with a little bit of prodding, heard of what had occurred the first time that Rei had tried to pilot Unit 00. Shinji had been surprised that Gendo would go to such lengths in order to keep the blue-haired girl safe, though not overly so seeing as how he had seen the two interact with one another and the elder Ikari definitely cared for her.

"Yes, Shinji-san." Rei's voice was slightly muffled by the sound of rustling clothes as she discarded her uniform for the plug suit that all pilots were apparently forced into wearing, though he had swindled himself out of that one. The thought of Rei in a plug suit sent his perverted side into a giggling frenzy - though he did control himself from doing so openly - and his hand twitching ever so slightly. He had developed the tick during the war and it had carried over much to his annoyance. The sound of the door sliding open only made his hand twitch more pronouncedly.

Rei stepped out of the changing room clad in the plug suit, and a light tint to her cheeks that Shinji did not see - far too preoccupied with the girl's figure. For a fourteen year old she was definitely rather developed, though back when he used to shower in public bathouses with his troops they tended to tell him the same. Though while getting a single eyeful was allowed, openly gawking at her was not - so the dark-haired boy reigned in his composure and gave her a simple smile. "Well, if now that you're in your plug suit, I guess you're ready to enter Unit 00." Still smiling, he gave her a small wave before heading out; he had things in his office he needed to look over.

A small hand gently tugged at the sleeve of his black shirt and Shinji slowly turned around, rather surprised. Rei was holding on to him, eyes averted and cheeks flushed. His perverted side was clearly enjoying the sight of a bashful Ayanami Rei. "Will you...stay and watch me?" She hesitated ever so slightly and her blush deepened. Smiling, Shinji brought his hand up to lightly touch Rei's hand, "Of course Rei."

* * *

"We will now commence the reactivation of Unit 00." Ikari Gendo's flat voice boomed over the receivers in the huge room that housed the dormant Unit 00. Shinji stood inside a room near the ground floor that had an easy access to the cage as well as a huge window that displayed the orange and white Eva. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was watching the screen with boredom, though his body was tensed and ready to move at any given time. "Rei, are you ready?" Hearing the thickly-veiled concern in the man's voice brought a small smirk to the younger Ikari's face. The jabbering of the bridge crew as well as Ritsuko annoyed him ever so slightly, but he didn't bother turning off the volume to the intercom as he needed to hear these things too in case there was an accident.

"Unit 00 has been activated!" Shinji leaned ever so slightly forward, eyes never leaving the screen as he watched the Eva's single red eye illuminate. He fell over in shock when the sound of the Angel alarm suddenly blared from the intercom, "Sonuva..." he muttered, glad that he had chosen an empty room to watch the precedings from. Glancing up at the screen, he noticed that Unit 00 was powering down. Cursing, Shinji stood up and ran out of the room, not bothering to pay attention to the scurrying people around him as he sprinted towards the Eva cages.

His phone started ringing, but he ignored it knowing that it was either the Commander or Misato calling him about the Angel. After a few minutes of running in a dead sprint, he arrived at the cage and stopped to take a small breather - only slightly winded - and noticed that the hatchet to the plug was already opened for him. Sighing, he rushed forward, hopping on a single foot as he discarded his shoes so they wouldn't become ruined and dropping his phone inside one - he was slightly hesitant about bringing it in with him - before jumping into the LCL filled tube. Immediately voices filled his ears and he glared at the screen that showed a clear view of the octahedral angel.

"Ah, Commander! The major is now inside the plug. Shinji where have you been we've been calling you!" Misato's voice was tinged with a small amount of panic, no doubt having thought that they would have to wait for him to come to NERV and that by then it would have already been too late. "Same as you, Misato. Now are we going to go kill an Angel or not?"

The people on the bridge crew chuckled good naturedly at his attempt to lighten the tense mood, and soon Shinji found himself rocketing towards the surface. When he reached the ground level of Tokyo-3 the shout of "Shinji move out of the way!" was not the first thing he wanted to hear. Instinctively ordering the Eva to do a backflip, he was barely able to avoid the large beam of blue energy that had nearly slammed into the purple behemoth. Shinji gritted his teeth as he stared up at the huge blue floating diamond, 'How the hell did that thing notice me so quickly.' "Major, you need to fall back; we ne-" Misato's voice was cut off when Shinji was forced to make another leap as another beam of energy crashed into the area that the Eva was just standing on. "Fall back!"

Glaring at the Angel, Shinji moved towards the building that had rose from the ground a few paces, at least for the Eva away. 'This is not over.' Shinji vowed to himself, eyes never leaving the Angel's form in the distance, until he turned to move into the building that would lead him down to the cage. Shinji never saw the incoming beam rip through the fortified building and into the Eva's back, nor did he hear the horrified gasps come from the people on the bridge.

* * *

_The quiet forest was only interrupted by the occasional booming sound of jets flying overhead. A short figure dressed in green, brown, and red fatigues crept through the foliage - the Japanese military colors - and a long rifle grasped firmly in small hands. Blue eyes moved from side to side; taking in every single detail of the looming trees and dark green plants, fingers twitching every so often. He was careful not to make a noise, his feet barely making a sound on the forest floor as he moved; a perfect soldier._

_"Where do you think those filthy Vietnam soldiers' camps are, Wu?" The dialect was definitely Mandarin and the short dark-haired boy's nose crinkled ever so slightly in disgust. 'Vietnamese, filthy? Fucking hypocritical Chinese.' Creeping closer to where the voices were coming from, he peered around a giant tree before quickly moving his head back. 'Holy shit, there's like twenty of them!' Taking a deep breath, though making sure he didn't make a noise, he pressed his small body against the tree, straining his ears. _

_"How should I know? I just want to get out of this fucking jungle and back to my wife!" Laughter was heard from the group, before a leering voice commented, "Why? When there's such good fucking material here?" The sound of sobbing suddenly reached his ears and the boy's dark eyes narrowed in fury. "Shut the fuck up, bitch!" A loud feminine cry accompanied the sound of a body falling to the ground. Gripping his gun tighter, he knew that there was no way he was going to wait for backup, especially not after the sound of clothes tearing and the wailing of a woman. "To think these Vietnamese whores would be good for something!" Roaring laughter accompanied the gruff voice and blue eyes narrowed even further._

_Carefully putting his gun down, the fatigue-clad child reached into his pack before bringing out a short sheathed blade with one hand while with the other a canister of tear gas. Placing the blade on the forest floor, he quickly reached back into his pack and took out a gas-mask - dark red and green paint painted onto the black surface in a similar pattern as to his clothes - and another canister. Snapping it into place, he tried to ignore the wails that were coming from the woman only a few feet away, her suffering would end soon - he would make sure of it. Unsheathing the blade, he discarded the brown holster before snapping the pin off the tear gas canister and throwing it around the tree before doing the same with the other one. Shouts and growls drowned out the sobs as the Chinese soldiers rushed to grab their gear. Moving to the side of the tree, he expertly lifted the rifle and began shooting into the smoke being careful to mind where he shot at in case there were more women in the camp like the voice from earlier had suggested. After a few rounds his gun was out of ammo and instead of slipping another cartridge, he let it drop and grabbed the hunting blade from the floor and ran into the smoke-filled area, following the sounds of coughing and repeatedly stabbing Chinese soldiers until they fell to the floor to die._

_Eventually the smoke cleared and the young child found himself staring at a clearing filled with dead and bloodied bodies. "F-fucking monster!" Turning to his left, he noticed a heavily bleeding soldier on the floor, eyes locked on his masked face while his other hand crept towards a rifle not too far away. Sighing, the boy let the blade fall from his limp fingers before swiftly unsheathing a small compact pistol and firing a single shot that tore through the man's skull. _

_His head snapped to the side at the sound of a stifled sob. Pressed against a tree was a naked women, no doubt the one that had been nearly raped, with a cloth covered hand held to her mouth and tears falling down from wide bloodshot eyes. She was staring straight at the short blood-soaked form of the young soldier, sobs escaping her lips as she tried to back away. "P-please don't kill me!" Her voice was dry and it hurt to talk, but not enough to stop her from begging for her life. _

_'Remember Sargent Ikari. No matter the situation, no matter the person, no matter the age there must not be witnesses to us being on these islands.' The tall pale Major had told him this countless of times and by now it had been ingrained into his memory. 'We are essentially ghosts here and if the other countries were to know that the Japanese government is involved in this conflict we will be forced into an even deadlier war.' The woman's frantic pleading in Vietnamese only grew louder; loud enough to possibly attract a patrolling Chinese soldier. Quickly, he snapped his arm up, the pistol's iron sights lining up with the woman's head. This time the twitch of Ikari Shinji's fingers wasn't from anxiousness and when the woman's body stilled and slowly dropped to its side, his gun fell along with her. The tears that slid from his eyes were hidden to the world behind the gas-mask. _

_It was the first and only time Shinji cried when he was forced to kill an innocent person.  
_

* * *

Blue eyes slid open; hollow and empty. A dull throbbing of his mind was the only lasting effect the Angel's cheap shot had on him. Slowly moving his eyes to the right, where he had felt a presence, he found a sleeping Ayanami Rei draped in a white quilt. Blinking slightly, he watched her peaceful face for a few moments before slowly moving his body so that he was now upright. To his left was a small table with a tray full of food and a simple NERV khaki uniform. Giving the sleeping blue-haired girl a glance, he slipped out of the bed and ignoring the fact he was stark naked; he slipped on the uniform, noticing that it fit him rather snugly.

With a final look to the sleeping girl he slipped out of the room and into the silent hallways of the medical facilities located deep in the headquarters. He was absentmindedly walking towards the bridge, his mind wandering towards the flashback to his time on active field duty. He tended to not have these flashbacks, but whenever they came he was violently reminded of all the sins he had committed in order to protect his country. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair and continued his walk, noticing that he had already left the medical wing and was now close to the bridge - which was obvious seeing as how there were far more people running around.

"It was the most effective option, given the time remaining to us! If we can't neutralize the enemy's A.T field, our only chance is to punch through it with a highly concentrated beam of energy!" Misato's loud voice easily alerted him to the fact that he had arrived at the bridge. Furrowing his brow, he took in her words and after a few seconds of contemplation, understood what the Angel's discovered abilities were.

"So close quarters combat isn't a viable option because the Angel has an ability to specifically target an offending transgressor in a certain radius?" All eyes turned to him, most shocked, while others only seemed intrigued - the Commander and Sub-commander. "Right?" Misato gave him a hesitant nod, once again shocked at being exposed to the fact that the person a few feet away from her was a genius in all rights. "Is it really wise to send high-concentrated energy at a being that is able to control and wield energy without any outside help? That doesn't sound like the best option."

Misato's eyes widened, having apparently missed such a glaring detail, but she didn't back down at the challenge to her plan.

"The energy first focuses in the middle of it's 'body' where we have proof of it being a sort of reactor. We doubt that it's body can absorb and convert other energy, especially if we're using so much of it." Shinji nodded, accepting the plan as it didn't have many glaring holes, except for, "And what exactly are we going to be using to fire such a beam?" The grin that stretched across Misato's lips unnerved the young hardened veteran.

* * *

"So, are you really ready to pilot Unit 00?" Shinji stared at the blue-haired girl over the glass of water he had started drinking from. They were sitting inside the large cafeteria that NERV housed, waiting for the time that they would be called to enter their Evas and perform their suicidal mission. The blue-haired girl was calmly sipping at a vegetarian broth that the cafeteria workers had pre-made for her. Shinji hadn't bothered to question the mysterious behavior, though he had directed an upturned eyebrow at the silent girl.

"Yes...there is no need to worry." She looked down, concentrating on the light ripples in the broth as she dipped the spoon back in.

Shinji eyed her calmly, lightly picking at the food on his plate. His conversations with her, the few that they had, were never this awkward. Frowning ever so slightly, he noticed the distant look in her eyes and decided to comment, "Is something wrong Ayanami?" Her eyes widened every so slightly as she turned to him, apparently the fact that Shinji had not called her by her given name had surprised her. She regarded his expression before once again averting her eyes.

"When I...saw you...Unit 01 had been damaged severely and your pulse had stopped several times, something...something in me," Here she paused to lightly press her hands against her chest, right where her heart was, "began aching."

Shinji stopped picking at his food, eyebrows raised high on his brow. The blue-haired girl had practically confessed that she had feelings for him, but he had no idea as to how to respond. Apparently she took this as the worst as she stood from her seat and began walking away, her head down while her body stood rigid - a sign of defeat if he had ever seen one. He reacted instinctively; standing up and rushing to follow her, lightly grabbing her wrist to stop her from walking away when he reached her. Moving around her to stare at her, he noticed that tears were forming at the side of her face, but her expression was blank; "Thank you for your concern Rei, but as you can see I'm perfectly fine."

"Am I interrupting something?" The voice of Akagi Ritsuko snapped the two out of their trances and the blond eyed them calculatingly, eyes focusing in on the tears at the corner of Rei's eyes immediately. 'What? I've never seen Rei cry in my life!' Shaking her head and deciding that she would definitely be looking into this, she put this strange incident behind her in order to state why she had originally come for them, "It's time."

* * *

Shinji lay down on the platform, staring up at the sky with his arms crossed behind the back of his head - looking everywhere but at the girl that sat cross-legged on the platform to the left of his own. Despite not trying to look at her, his mind was definitely on her. 'She cares for me. She said it herself; her heart _ached _at seeing me nearly die. But that doesn't necessarily mean she likes me or that...' He would have yanked his hair out in frustration if it wouldn't look so suspicious. 'I'm not cut out for this. Everything was so much easier back then.' His thoughts went back to the dream he had awoken from not but a few hours ago, 'Then again, far more bloodier.'

His phone vibrated and with a sigh, he slipped his hand into his pocket to retrieve it. 'Oh the joys of having satellite-connected phones. No matter what, you can't get away from work.' Chuckling lightly, ignoring the look that Rei sent him, he pressed the 'Receive' button.

"Tofuyo, have you done everything I've asked from you?" The person on the other line shuffled something and barked out an order before once again picking up the phone.

"Sorry, Major, some stupid Private dropped some papers. Anyways, yes. All of your orders have been followed to the letter and everything is in place."

Tofuyo was a hard working man that had worked his way up the ladder by being the best underling. He was a Captain in the JGSDF without having to so much as raise a rifle, which was the reason why he had appointed the man as the sub-commander of his company. Smirking, Shinji couldn't help but tell himself that he had definitely made the right choice in worming this one out of the Major General's grasp.

"Excellent, make sure that you don't begin until it attacks our distraction first." A respectful, 'Yes, sir!' was his only reply before he hung up the phone, smirk still in place.

"Does that have anything to do with our incoming battle?" The flat voice cut into his thoughts and he turned to Rei, who was watching him with only a small glint of curiosity in her red eyes. Smirking, Shinji nodded, rolling up the sleeves of the khaki uniform he still donned.

"There's been a change of plans, Rei." The blue-haired girl couldn't help but feel uneasy at the Major's smile.

* * *

Shinji ignored the constant shouts from Misato and the bridge-crew as he rushed through the trees on Mt. Futago, the Eva's massive body easily uprooting the trees as he moved past them. "Shinji, what are you doing!" Misato screamed, her face suddenly taking up the majority of the screen. Not bothering to respond, he forcefully moved the woman's face aside so he once again had a clear view of his surroundings. 'She's going to get me killed!'

"Do not worry, Captain Katsuragi." Rei's flat voice cut through Misato's screams and Shinji was thankful for the peaceful voice. "Shinji-san has altered the plans for a higher chance of success." Misato sputtering at the fact he had gone above her position only gave everyone the idea that she was a petulant child.

"Katsuragi, cease your complaining." The commander certainly thought so.

Smirking, Shinji leaped over a powerful beam of energy that had come from the Angel; timing it just right so that it would barely miss him. "Don't worry Misato, we're still going to be using your rifle - all I'm doing is giving Rei a better shot." Shinji smirked when he noticed that the Angel was once again charging up it's beam. The blast shot off like a cannon, but he didn't bother to move, nor did he bother to reply to the screams for him to move away.

Slowly the beam dwindled until it was a thin particle that Shinji easily dodged by ordering the Eva to sidestep. The bridge-crew was shocked into silence when they saw the huge beam dwindle into a harmless light and immediately after started questioning why. A few miles away the Angel was busy shooting countless of similar beams at the Tokyo-3 floor - more specifically it was busy shooting at countless of remote-controlled missile launchers. Shinji had a hunch about the massive Angel's power and it turned out right.

"The Angel can do countless of things at once but it has to distribute it's power equally in order to do so. I ordered hundreds of miniature remote-controlled missile launchers to fire at sporadic intervals in order to keep the Angel busy while I drew it's main focus away from them. Right now's a good time as any to fire that rifle, Misato."

Shinji's grin was shark-like when he saw the massive beam shoot off from the mountain. To give the Angel credit it tried to produce it's own to counterattack but with it still having to equally distribute its energy in order fight off the miniature missile launchers, the beam was as pathetic as its rest and the rifle's beam easily cut through it along with the Angel's AT field and straight into the massive blue form.

"Nice shot, Rei." Shinji muttered as he watched the gigantic diamond's bottom half slowly fall to the floor of Tokyo-3, blood seeping from it's cracks before falling apart.

* * *

Author's Note:

A blast from the past! I'll write some more of those, just to show you how he actually earned his ranking instead of simply alluding to it.

Thanks for the reviews and hope you liked it! Cheers!


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